1.

Course Description
9.1 9.1.1 First Year Semester 1

University Unit HRD 2101 COMMUNICATION SKILLS AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to effectively present fundamental Actuarial ideas and arguments using various channels. SYLLABUS: Communication: definition, elements, process, purposes, qualities and barriers. Oral communication: public speaking, persuasion, interviews, committee meetings, and tutorial discussion. Listening skills: efficient listening, barriers, and listening to lectures. Writing skills: essay, correspondence, reports, and summary. Reading skills: efficient reading, barriers, skimming, scanning, and study reading. Visual communication: chalkboard, transparencies, stencils, slides, television, and films. Public communication: public relations, and advertising. Source of information: interviews, questionnaires, library, observation, and experiments.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES:

1. Taylor S. Communication for Business: A Practical Approach, 4th edition. Financial Times / Pearson 2. 3.
Education Limited. ISBN: 0273687654, 2005. Jay, R and Jay, A Effective Presentation: How to Create & Deliver a Winning Presentation, 2nd Ed. Prentice Hall / Pearson Education. ISBN: 0273688030, 2004. Richard Heller. High Impact Speeches: How to Create & Deliver Words that Move Minds. Financial Times / Pearson Education. ISBN: 0-273-66202-3, 2003.

Faculty Unit SMA 2104 MATHEMATICS FOR SCIENCE AIM: To provide students with basic mathematical tools and abilities of algebra, trigonometry, probability and statistics which will provide support for further study of Actuarial Science. SYLLABUS: Quadratic functions and equations. Surds, logarithms and indices. Permutations and combinations. Series: finite, infinite, arithmetic, geometric and binomial (positive integral index only) including applications to compound interest, approximations, growth and decay. Remainder theorem and its application to solution of factorisable polynomial equations. Trigonometry: trigonometric functions including their graphs and inverses in degree and radian measure, sine and cosine formulae, addition, multiple angle and factor formulae. Statistics: collection and representation of data, and measures of central tendency and variability by graphical and calculation methods. Probability: classical and axiomatic approaches to probability, compound events, conditional probability, tree diagrams, and binomial distribution.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE

REFERENCES: 1. Uppal, S. M. and H. M. Humphreys Mathematics for Science. New Age International, India, 1996. 2. L. Bostock and S. Chandler. Core Mathematics for Advanced Level (3rd Edition). Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd. 2000.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Hungerford, T.W.; Mercer, R., College algebra, (Saunders College Publishing), 1991. Booth, D.J., Foundation Mathematics, (Addison Wesley), 1991. Newmark, J; Lake, F., Mathematics as a second language, (Addison Wesley), 1988. Niven, I.; Zuckerman, H.S., An introduction to the theory of numbers, (Wiley), 1980. Stewart, I.; Tall, D., The foundations of mathematics , (Oxford University Press), 1977.

SUGGESTIONS: CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN IN APPOINTING A LECTURER TO TEACH THIS COURSE. EMPHASIS IS GIVEN TO THE ALGEBRA COMPONENT OF THE COURSE.

Core Units HBC 2107 INTRODUCTION TO MICRO - ECONOMICS AIM: This course provides an introduction to the basic micro-economic principles and methods that are suitable for Actuarial work. SYLLABUS: Nature and scope of economics; Central economic concepts, scarcity, choice, opportunity cost. Economic methodology and its basic concepts; economic systems, concepts of demand and supply, equilibrium analysis and application. Elasticity; arc and point measurements, determinants, application. Consumer theory: cardinalist and ordinalist approaches, developments in demand theory. Theory of production: law of variable proportions, law of increasing and decreasing returns to scale, theory of costs, optimum size of the firm, theory of the firm, profit maximisation, market structures, perfect competition, imperfect competition, monopoly. Factor market: demand and supply analysis of factor markets, pricing of production factors. Theory of general equilibrium and welfare economics.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES:

1. Begg, David K H; Fisher, Stanley; Dornbusch, Rudiger. Economics. 7th ed. MacGraw-Hill, 2003. 2. Lipsey, Richard G; Chrystal, K Alec. Principles of economics 9th ed Oxford University Press, 1999. . 3. Samuelson, Paul A; Nordohaus, William D. Economics. 17th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2001
4. The study notes from the Institute of Actuaries for the Core Technical 7.

ICS 2107 INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to perform basic tasks on a computer and use standard software and hardware. SYLLABUS: Information technology and computers: Fundamentals, classification, data Bit, Byte. Computer hardware: Input, output, storage devices and CPU (Central Processing Unit). Computer software: Systems software, operating systems, compiling systems and application software. Data files: Random and sequential. Disc storage: Track, sector, cluster and surface. Numbers: integers, real, binary, octal, hexadecimal, and modulo algebra, and the four basic operations. Information technology in our society. Fundamentals of Microsoft

windows, word processors, Microsoft Access, and spreadsheets. Introduction to the internet; www (World Wide Web), libear media and hypermedia, web browsers, electronic mails.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. Leroy Frank Johnson, Rodney H. Cooper. File Techniques for Data Base Organization in Cobol . (Prentice-Hall). 1981 2. D. Grillo, J.D. Robertson, Henry M. Zbyszynski. Data and File Management for the Ti-99/4A (W.C. Brown), 1984 3. James Bradley File and Data Base Techniques. (Thomson Learning), 1971 4. Howard White. Data File Handling for the IBM PC and XT .(Brady Communications Co), 1985. 5. James Martin.Distributed File and Data Base Design: Tools and Techniques Report No. 3 in the Series of Definitive Reports on Distributed Processing. (Savant Research Studies), 1979. 6. Mary E.S. Loomis. Data Management and File Structures. (Prentice Hall), 1989 7. John P. Grillo, J.D. Robertson. Data File Management for the IBM Personal Computer IBM-PC With 64K Two Disk Set). (McGraw-Hill College), 1983.

ICS 2329 E-COMMERCE AIM: At the end of the course, the student will be equipped with the necessary foundations and tools of electronic commerce. The student will therefore be in a position to perform web marketing with a very high degree of competence. SYLLABUS: Electronic commerce foundations: impetus for web commerce, types, issues and solutions via electronic commerce, hardware and software ingredients, and web storefront. The virtual enterprise: site implementation, and e-commerce guidelines. Law and the internet: legal and intellectual property issues, electronic publishing, and area of liability, privacy and confidentiality. Web marketing goals: marketing overview, benefits and strategies, drivers and barriers to growth, hard vs. soft goods, product pricing, global vs. niche, mass vs. micro markets product, distribution and availability, demographics, psychographics, audience data focus, groups and surveys. Online product promotion: overview, site categories, banner advertisements performance, customer incentives, search engine placement, e-mail and offline product promotion-commerce. Consumer service methods: customer relationships, e-service methods, e-commerce synchronous and asynchronous service, e-commerce self-service, e-service action plan, and customer relationship management.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. Efraim Turban, Dave King, Jae Kyu Lee, Jae Lee, Dennis Viehland. Electronic Commerce 2006: A Managerial Perspective. (Prentice Hall), 2005. 2. Gary Schneider. Electronic Commerce: The Second Wave. (Course Technology Ptr), 2004. 3. Elias M. Awad. Electronic Commerce: From Vision to Fulfillment. (Prentice Hall), 2006 4. John E. Murray, Jr. , Harry M. Flechtner. Sales, Leases and Electronic Commerce: Problems and Materials on National and International Transactions. (West Group), 2003 5. Efraim Turban (Editor). Electronic Commerce. (Prentice Hall), 1999.

SMA 2100 DISCRETE MATHEMATICS AIM: At the end of the course, the student should be proficient in handling the basics of set theory, rules of logic, functions and mathematical induction required for Actuarial Science.

SYLLABUS: Logic: variables, open sentences, truth sets, propositions, truth values, logical equivalence, truth tables, negation of statements, conjunction, disjunction, tautology, contradiction, implication, contra positive, converse, inverse, existential and universal quantifier, negation with quantifiers, and counter example. Sets: elements, specification, finite and infinite, universal, empty and disjoint. Subsets. Venn diagram: union, intersection, complement, difference, and number of elements and logical arguments. Set of sets, the power set, and Cartesian product. Functions: domain, co domain, images, range, pre-image, specification and composition; bracket, absolute value and inverse; injections, surjections and bijections; sum, difference, product and quotient; increasing and decreasing functions. Numbers: real, natural, prime, integer, rational and irrational. Laws of arithmetic including comparison with laws of set theory and logic. Evenness and oddness, denseness, real number lines, intervals and inequalities. Methods of proof: direct, contrapositive, contradiction and principle of mathematical induction.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. Elias Zakon. Basic Concepts of Mathematics, The Trillia Group, 2001. 2. L. Bostock and S. Chandler. Core Mathematics for Advanced Level (3rd Edition). Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd. 2000.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Hungerford, T.W.; Mercer, R., College algebra, (Saunders College Publishing), 1991. Booth, D.J., Foundation Mathematics, (Addison Wesley), 1991. Newmark, J; Lake, F., Mathematics as a second language, (Addison Wesley), 1988. Niven, I.; Zuckerman, H.S., An introduction to the theory of numbers, (Wiley), 1980. Stewart, I.; Tall, D., The foundations of mathematics , (Oxford University Press), 1977.

STA 2104 CALCULUS FOR STATISTICS I AIM: To equip students with the mathematical tools and abilities in differential calculus and introduce integral calculus for univariate functions. SYLLABUS: Limits, continuity and differentiability. Differentiation by first principles and by rule for xn (integral and fractional n), sums, products, quotients, chain rule, trigonometric, logarithmic and exponential functions of a single variable. L'Hopital's rule. Parametric differentiation. Applications: equations of tangent and normal, rates of change and stationary points. Integration: anti-derivatives and their applications to marginal and total functions e.g. marginal cost and total cost. Mean value theorem of differential calculus. Rolle's Theorem.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE CO-REQUISITE: SMA 2104 Mathematics for Science REFERENCES: 1. S J Salas and E Hille Calculus: One and Several Variables. 7th ed. Wiley, 1995 2. Stewart. Calculus Concepts and Contexts: Multi-variable and Single Variable. Brooks/Cole Pub Co, 2004. 3. Thomas & Finney. Calculus and Analytical Geometry. 7th. Addison-Wesley, 1988 4. Edwards, C. H. Multivariable Calculus With Analytic Geometry, 5th. Prentice Hall, 1997

5. Larson, Ron; Hostetler, Robert P.; Edwards, Bruce H. Calculus With Analytic Geometry, 8th ed.
Houghton Mifflin College, 2005

STA 2190 INTRODUCTION TO ACTUARIAL SCIENCES

AIM: To give the students an overview and introduction to the Actuarial Sciences. This is a course that introduces the students to the basics of Actuarial Science and gives a background to the entire course. SYLLABUS: History of Actuarial Science. Roles/Functions and types of Actuaries: General (Non-life) Insurance, Life Assurance, Finance and Investments, Pensions, Health. Elementary concepts of the Actuarial Control Cycle and its function in the branches of Actuarial Science. Modeling: Purpose and steps. Introduction to Modern Actuarial Practices. Principles of Insurance. Classes of Insurance. Risks: Non-insurable and Insurable Risks. Role of Financial Management: development of financial thought, goal of the firm, financial decisions, and risk-return relationships, prices and value. Ethics and Professionalism.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. Booth, PM; Chadburn, Modern Actuarial Theory and Practice,. Chapman and Hall, 1999 2. Bellis Shepherd & Lyon Understanding Actuarial Management: The Actuarial Control Cycle, 2003. 3. Bellis, C. Actuarial control cycle. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., 2004.

9.1.2

Semester 2

University Units HRD 2102 DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AIM: At the end of this course, the student should be able to appreciate the impact of development in the society especially in project management and responsibility of professionals. SYLLABUS: The concept of development and underdevelopment; social-economic indicators of growth and development; group dynamics; structure and behaviour of small groups; leadership; organizing people and activities such as Harambee; division of labour; fundamentals of project management; technology and society; role and responsibility of professional in rural/industrial environment; social effects of computerization/automation; impact of information technology. Nature of morality; place of morality in the society; human-centred ethics and place of humanity in the natural world. Applications.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES:

1. Abdullah, Hussaina The Democratic Process and the Challenge of Gender in Nigeria.
Review of African Political Economy, 56:11., 1993.

2. Afshar, Haleh Women, Development & Survival in the Third World. Longman Press, NY.,
1991.

3. Bangura, Yusuf. Economic Restructuring, Coping Strategies and Social Change: Implications
for Institutional Development in Africa. Development and Change, 25:785, 1994.

4. Barrett, Hazel; Browne, Angela. Women's time, labour-saving devices and rural development
in Africa. Community Development Journal, 29(3):203-214, 1994.

5. Baylies, Carolyn and Janet Bujra (1993). Challenging Gender Inequalities in Africa. Review
of African Political Economy, 56:3, 1993. (See entire issue for articles on SAP and urban women in Zimbabwe, Contract farming in Kenya, Student movements in Nigeria, punishment and women in Ghana, etc.

6. Bozzoli, Belinda. Marxism, Feminism and South African Studies. Journal of Southern African
Studies, 9(2):139., 1983.

7. Bulow, Dorthe Von Transgressing Gender Boundaries: Kipsigis women in Kenya. Centre for
Development Research, Copenhagan, 1991.

SZL 2111 HIV/AIDS AIM: At the end of this course the student should be aware of and understand the impact of HIV/AIDS. SYLLABUS: General introduction: Public health and hygiene, human physiology, sex and sexuality. History of sexually transmitted diseases (STD); History of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune-deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), Comparative information on trends, global and local distribution, Justification of importance of the course. Biology of HIV/AIDS: overview of immune system, natural immunity to HIV/AIDS, The AIDS virus and its life cycle, disease progression (epidemiology), transmission and diagnosis. Treatment and Management: Nutrition. Prevention and control; Abstain, Be faithful, Condom use, Destigmatize HIV/AIDS (ABCD) method, anti-retroviral drugs and vaccines. Pregnancy and AIDS. Management of HIV/AIDS patients. Social and cultural practices: Religion and AIDS. Social stigma on HIV/AIDS. Behavioural change. Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) services. Drug abuse and AIDS, alcohol and hard drugs. Poverty and AIDS. Families and AIDS orphans. Government policies: Global policies of AIDS. Legal rights of AIDS patients. Intellectual property rights. AIDS impact: Family set up/society, population, agriculture, education, development and economy and other sectors.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. Josh Powell AIDS and HIV-Related Diseases: An Educational Guide for Professionals and the Public . New York: Insight Books, 1996. 2. Lyn R. Frumkin and John M. Leonard Questions & Answers on AIDS . 3rd edition. Oradell, NJ: Medical Economics Books, 1997. 3. William B. Rubenstein, Ruth Eisenberg, and Lawrence O. Gostin The Rights of People Who Are HIV Positive . Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1996. 4. Gabriel Rotello Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men New York: Dutton, 1997 5. Jaap Goudsmit. Viral Sex: The Nature of AIDS New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 6. Robert Klitzman Being Positive: The Lives of Men and Women with HIV Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1997.

Core Units HBC 2125 INTRODUCTION TO MACRO-ECONOMICS AIM: At the end of the course, students will be equipped with the basic macro-economic principles and methods relevant to Actuarial work.

SYLLABUS: Macro-economics; relationship between micro and macro-economics. National income accounting, national income determination, circular flow of income and expenditure, adjustments, other concepts of national income, difficulties in estimation of national income, uses of national income statistics. Simple Keynesian model of income determination, consumption, investment, government and foreign sector. Consumption of savings functions, theories of investment. The multiplier and accelerator effect. Trade cycles. Nature, development and functions of money; the demand and supply of money, price index, credit creation, financial institutions, interest rates, monetary policy, equilibrium in the money and product markets. Money and capital markets. Government taxation and expenditure, national debt, fiscal, monetary policies and the macro-economic objectives, international trade theories, free trade and protectionism, terms of trade, balance of trade, balance of payments, international liquidity, exchange rates, international institutions.
PRE-REQUISITES: HBC 2107 Introduction to Micro-Economics REFERENCES: 1. The study notes from the Institute of Actuaries for the Core Technical 7. 2. Begg, David K H; Fisher, Stanley; Dornbusch, Rudiger. Economics. 7th ed. MacGraw-Hill, 2003. 3. Lipsey, Richard G; Chrystal, K Alec. Principles of economics 9th ed Oxford University Press, 1999. . 4. Samuelson, Paul A; Nordohaus, William D. Economics. 17th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2001

ICS 2108 PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGY AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to write and run simple programs that can be used to solve financial problems using a high level programming language. SYLLABUS: Pseudocode: Structured programming techniques, program structure, simple data types, control structures, modularity, structured data types. Introduction to OOP (Object Orientated Programming): Programming styles and testing, abstract data types, arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, operations on trees and graphs.
PRE-REQUISITES: ICS 2107 Introduction to Information Technology REFERENCES: 1. Robert J. Schalkoff. ProgrProgramming Languages And Methodologies. Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2006.

2. Simon Bennett, Steve McRobb , Ray Farmer. Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using
UML (Paperback) Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using UML. 3rd Edition. McGrawHill. 2006

SMA 2201 LINEAR ALGEBRA 1 AIM: At the end of the course, the student should be proficient in handling elementary operations on vectors and their geometric applications, linear mappings using matrix notation, and matrix operations specifically for solutions of linear equations. SYLLABUS: Vectors and scalars: algebraic and geometric properties in IR2 and IR3, magnitude and direction, and applications such as force, displacement, velocity and rotation. Operations on vectors such as addition, scalar multiplication, dot and cross products, and linear combination. Vector proofs of theorems in geometry. Extension to Rn: scalar products, formulae for length and angle, Schwartz and triangular inequalities, and planes and lines in IR3. Vector spaces over R: subspaces, spanning sets, linear independence, bases and

dimension, direct sums and intersection of subspaces, linear mappings and their matrices with respect to the standard basis, range and null spaces, rank, nullity and echelon form, rotations and reflections in IR2 and IR3, and application to linear equations, matrix multiplication, inverse mappings and their matrices.
PRE-REQUISITES: SMA 2104 Mathematics for science, STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I REFERENCES:

1. 2.
1974

AG Hamilton Linear Algebra: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 1989 S Lipschutz Linear Algebra. (Schaums Outline Series, McGraw-Hill, New.York, L Smith Linear Algebra. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1984 G Strang Linear Algebra. (3rd ed., Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, San Diego, 1988

3. 4.

STA 2100 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 1 AIM: At the end of the course the student should be proficient in representing data graphically and handling summary statistics, simple correlation and best fitting line, and handling probability and probability distributions including expectation and variance of a discrete random variable. SYLLABUS: Classical and axiomatic approaches to probability. Compound and conditional probability, including Bayes' theorem. Concept of discrete random variable: expectation and variance. Data: sources, collection, classification and processing. Frequency distributions and graphical representation of data, including bar diagrams, histograms and stem-and-leaf diagrams. Measures of central tendency and dispersion. Skewness and kurtosis. Correlation. Fitting data to a best straight line.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2104 Calculus for statistics I, SMA 2104 Mathematics for Science. REFERENCES:

1. Uppal, S. M., Odhiambo, R. O. & Humphreys, H. M. Introduction to Probability and

Statistics. JKUAT Press, 2005. 2. P.S. Mann. Introductory Statistics. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2001. 3. GM Clarke & D Cooke A Basic Course in Statistics. 5th ed. Arnold, 2004 4. S Ross A first course in Probability 4th ed. Prentice Hall, 1994 5. J Crawshaw & J Chambers A concise course in A-Level statistics, with worked examples, 3rd ed. Stanley Thornes, 1994

STA 2105 CALCULUS FOR STATISTICS II AIM: To equip students with further mathematical tools and abilities in differential and integral calculus and complex numbers. SYLLABUS: Parametric and implicit differentiation including second and higher derivatives, and application to equations of tangent and normal. Curve sketching and asymptotes. Small changes. Techniques of integration: powers of trigonometric functions,

standard substitution including trigonometric and t method, integration by parts and partial fractions. Numerical integration: trapezoidal, mid-ordinate, Simpson's and prismoidal rules. Actuarial Applications of Calculus: interest theory and financial mathematics, demographics, population growth. Complex numbers: Argand diagrams, arithmetic operations and their geometric representation. Modulus and argument. De Moivre's theorem and its applications to trigonometric identities and roots of complex numbers. First and second order partial derivatives for functions of two or more variables.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I REFERENCES:

1. S J Salas and E Hille Calculus: One and Several Variables. 7th ed. Wiley. 1995 2. Stewart. Calculus Concepts and Contexts: Multi-variable and Single Variable. Brooks/Cole
Pub Co, 2004.

3. Thomas & Finney. Calculus and Analytical Geometry. 7th. Addison-Wesley, 1988 4. Edwards, C. H. Multivariable Calculus With Analytic Geometry, 5th. Prentice Hall, 1997 5. Larson, Ron; Hostetler, Robert P.; Edwards, Bruce H. Calculus With Analytic Geometry, 8th
ed. Houghton Mifflin College, 2005

STA 2191 FINANCIAL MATHEMATICS I AIM: This course deals with accumulation of past payments and the discounting of future payments at fixed and varying rates of interest which is fundamental to the financial aspects of Actuarial Science. SYLLABUS: Cash flow models, Time value of Money, Interest Rates: Real and Money Interest Rates, Discounting and Accumulating, Level Annuities, Deferred and Increasing Annuities, Equations of Value, Loan Schedules, Project Appraisal.
PRE-REQUISITES: SMA 2104 Mathematics for Science, STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I CO-REQUISITE: STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II REFERENCES: 1. The study notes published by the Actuarial Education Company for Core Technical 1. 2. Bowers, L Newton et al Actuarial Mathematics. Society of Actuaries 1997 3. MV Butcher, Nesbitt, J Cecil Mathematics of Compound Interest Ulrichs Books 1971. 4. Ingersoll, E Jonathan Theory of financial decision making. Rowman & Littlefield, 1987. 5. Kellinson, G Stephen The theory of interest. Irwin, 1991. 6. JJ McCutcheon & WF Scott An introduction to the Mathematics of Finance. Heinemann, 1986.

9.2 9.2.1

Second Year Semester 1

Core Units HRD 2200 GENERAL INSURANCE: THEORY AIM: At the end of this course the student should understand the theory behind operations in a general insurance office. SYLLABUS: Insurable risks. Principal terms in general insurance, types of product, and

implications of business environment. Problems arising in areas of risk and uncertainty, importance of data quality in assessment, and solutions to these such as actuarial investigations, basic methodology in rating and reserving, appropriate rating and reserving bases, reinsurance programme structures, financial planning models, principles of investment, asset liability matching requirements, and projection models.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2190 Introduction to Actuarial Science. REFERENCES: 1. The study notes from the Institute of Actuaries for the Specialist Technical 3. 2. Hart, D. G; Bunchanan, Robert A; Howe, Bruce A. The Actuarial practice of general insurance, 5th ed. Institute of Actuaries of Australia, Sydney, 1996.

SMA 2306 LINEAR ALGEBRA II AIM: At the end of the course the student should be proficient in handling further matrix operations, especially in determining Eigen-values and Eigen-vectors, and in diagonalisation. SYLLABUS: Field axioms. Vector spaces over an arbitrary field. Linear mappings and their matrices with respect to an arbitrary basis, and change of basis. Conjugation of matrices. Theory of determinants. Characteristic polynomial. Eigenvalues, eigenvectors and diagonalisation. Minimal polynomial and Cayley-Hamilton theorem. Description theorem. Invariant subspaces.
PRE-REQUISITES: SMA 2201 Linear Algebra I REFERENCES: 1. 2. 3. 4. AG Hamilton Linear Algebra: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. 1989 S Lipschutz Linear Algebra. Schaums Outline Series, McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1974 L Smith Linear Algebra. Springer-Verlag, N.Y., 1984 G Strang Linear Algebra. 3rd ed., Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, San Diego, 1988

STA 2200 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS II AIM: At the end of the course the student should be able to handle problems involving probability distributions of a discrete or a continuous random variable. SYLLABUS: Random variables: discrete and continuous, probability mass, density and distribution functions, expectation, variance, percentiles and mode. Moments and moment generating function. Moment generating function and transformation of variable technique for univariate distribution. Probability distributions: hypergeometric, binomial, Poisson, normal, beta and gamma. Statistical inference including one sample normal and t tests.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2100 Probability and statistics I, SMA 2104 Mathematics for Science REFERENCES:

1.

Uppal, S. M. , Odhiambo, R. O. & Humphreys, H. M. Introduction to Probability and Statistics. JKUAT Press, 2005 2. I Miller & M Miller John E Freunds Mathematical Statistics with Applications, 7th ed., Pearsons Education, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2003 3. RV Hogg, JW McKean & AT Craig Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 6th ed., Prentice Hall, 2003 4. HJ Larson Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistical Inference(Probability and Mathematical Statistics) 3rd ed., Wiley, 1982

STA 2202 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER INTERACTIVE STATISTICS AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to perform basic statistical analysis using standard statistical software and interpret the results. SYLLABUS: Basic concepts of modern statistics. Understanding of statistical reports. Recognition of accuracy or misleading quantitative information. Exploratory data analysis, statistical graphics, sampling variability, point and confidence interval estimation, and hypothesis testing. S-plus/R will be used throughout.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2100 Probability and statistics I, SMA 2104 Mathematics for Science REFERENCES:

1. Crawley. Statistics: An Introduction Using R. John Wiley & Sons, 2005 2. Uppal, S. M. , Odhiambo, R. O. & Humphreys, H. M. Introduction to Probability and
Statistics. JKUAT Press, 2005

3. I Miller & M Miller John E Freunds Mathematical Statistics with Applications, 7th ed.,
Pearsons Education, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2003

4. RV Hogg, JW McKean & AT Craig Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 6th ed., 5.

Prentice Hall, 2003 HJ Larson Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistical Inference(Probability and Mathematical Statistics). 3rd ed., Wiley, 1982

STA 2204 CALCULUS FOR STATISTICS III AIM: To extend the concepts of differentiation and integration to functions of several variables. The course also investigates inequalities and estimates and their use in understanding the convergence of sequences and series. SYLLABUS: Sequences and series: convergence tests. Power series: Taylor's and Maclaurin's theorems including applications to binomial, logarithmic, exponential, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. Trigonometric and hyperbolic representation of complex numbers. Integration: reduction formulae and its applications. Improper integrals and their convergence. Integration as the limit of a sum including pincer method for evaluation of simple integrals. Double integrals including change of order of integration and change of variable, Jacobians. Stationary Points for functions of more than one variable. Lagrange multipliers. Techniques for Fourier series.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II REFERENCES:

1. S J Salas and E Hille Calculus: One and Several Variables.7th ed. Wiley, 1995. 2. Stewart. Calculus Concepts and Contexts: Multi-variable and Single Variable. Brooks/Cole 3. 4.
Pub Co, 2004. Thomas & Finney. Calculus and Analytical Geometry. 7th. Addison-Wesley, 1988 Edwards, C. H. Multivariable Calculus With Analytic Geometry, 5th. Prentice Hall, 1997 ed. Houghton Mifflin College, 2005

5. Larson, Ron; Hostetler, Robert P.; Edwards, Bruce H. Calculus With Analytic Geometry, 8th

STA 2291 ACTUARIAL MATHEMATICS I

AIM: This course introduces the life table, the oldest actuarial model for contingencies (e.g. survival, death, sickness) relating to human life and combines this with financial mathematics in order to calculate values for annuities and life assurance policies for one life. SYLLABUS: Survival models and the life table including select mortality functions. Population theory: complete and curtate expectation of life, central death rates, and stationary population including average ages. Determination of exposure to risk by the census method, graduation methods and applications; Formulae for means and variances of assurances and annuities; commutation functions; premiums; net premiums; provisions; joint life benefits.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2191 Financial Mathematics I, STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II. CO-REQUISITE: STA 2200 Probability and Statistics II

REFERENCES: 1. NL Bowers, HU Gerber, JC Hickman et al. Actuarial mathematics. 2nd ed. Society of Actuaries, 1997. 753 2. WF Scott Life Assurance Mathematics, Heriot-Watt University, 1999. 3. Neill, A. Life contingencies, Heinemann 1977. 4. HU Gerber Life insurance mathematics. 3rd ed. Springer; Swiss Association of Actuaries, 1997. 5. Batten & London. Life Contingencies. A Logical Approach to Actuarial Mathematics. 2005

Compulsory additional unit SMA 2321 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS AIM: At the end of the course the student should be proficient in handling calculations, looking at sources of errors and the effects of errors, finite differences and interpolation techniques, numerical integration, and appreciation of the use of computer programmes. SYLLABUS: Sources of error. Errors due to round-off and the method. Error bounds for computer arithmetic. Effects of error on the basic operations of arithmetic. Statistical treatment of error. Condition and stability. Polynomials and their zeros: evaluation of polynomials (nesting); methods of determining zeros of polynomials such as bisection, Newton's, Bairstow's, and Lehmer's. Synthetic division. Finite differences: finite difference tables. Curve fitting using polynomial functions. Relationship between differences and derivatives. Finite difference interpolation techniques: linear, quadratic, Newton's forwarddifference and Lagrangian. Interpolation with equal intervals. Convergence and accuracy of linear, quadratic and Lagrangian interpolation. Numerical integration: elementary methods such as trapezoidal and Simpson's rules, undetermined coefficients, Newton-Cotes and EulerMaclaurin formulae, and finite difference methods. Iteration: simple iteration, convergence and order of iterative process, and rule of false position. Aitken's and Newton-Raphson methods. The solution of polynomial equations. Use of computer programs and packages.
PRE-REQUISITES: SMA 2104 Mathematics for Science REFERENCES:

1. Anthony Ralston and Philip Rabinowitz. A First Course in Numerical Analysis: second edition , 2003 2. Nocedal, J. and Wright, S.. Numerical optimization. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1999.

9.2.2

Semester 2

Core Units HRD 2201 ACCOUNTS AND FINANCE FOR ACTUARIAL SCIENCE AIM: This course provides an introduction to the principles of accounting and corporate finance. It is intended for students of Actuarial Science and is available to students in other programmes where a basic knowledge of financial markets, financial accounting and reporting is needed. SYLLABUS: Nature and purpose of accounting. Accounting principles, journal, ledger accounts, trial balance, and end year adjustments. Errors and suspense accounts. Bank reconciliation and control accounts. Sole proprietorship, companies, and non profit organisations. Incomplete records, accounting ratios, funds flow statements, and manufacturing accounts. Medium term company finance: hire purchase, credit sale, leasing, bank loans. Short term company finance: bank overdrafts, trade credit, factoring, bills of exchange, commercial paper. Principles of personal and corporate taxation. Factors considered by a company when deciding on its capital structure and dividend policy. Concept of a companys cost of Capital. Interaction between cost of capital and the nature of the investment projects undertaken by the company. Use of spreadsheets.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2191 Financial Mathematics I REFERENCES: 1. The study notes from the Institute of Actuaries for Core Technical 2. 2. Brealey, R & Myers S.C. Principles of Corporate Finance. McGraw Hill, 2005. 3. JM Samuels, FM Wilkes, RE Brayshaw Management of Company Finance 4. Geoffrey Holmes, Alan Sugden Interpreting Company Reports and Accounts, 8th ed. Pearson Education, 2002 5. Arthur J. Keown. Foundations of Finance : The Logic and Practice of Financial Management . Prentice Hall Finance Ser.), 2000 6. Frederic S. Mishkin and Stanley G. Eakins Financial Markets and Institutions 5th ed, AddisonWesley finance Series 2005 7. David S. Kidwell, David W. Blackwell, David A. Whidbee, and Richard L. Peterson Financial Institutions, Markets and Money, 9th ed. Wiley Finance Series 2005

ICS 2214 DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to create and use a database system to locate, manipulate and analyse data. SYLLABUS: Project descriptions. Introduction to Distributed Objects, JDBC and SQL (Structured Query Lasnguage). Database Access. Introduction to the Java Servlet API, webServer-Servlet-JDBC Interaction, Introduction to CORBA, Interfaces and IDL, Native Language Mapping, CORBA continued. GIOP/IIOP Protocol, IORs, BOA/POA,DII,Anytypes.

Naming and Events Services, Introduction to EJB, Session and Entity Beans, MetaData and Deployment. Advanced Topics in EJBs, Persistence, Transactions, State Message Queue Technology: JMS and IBM MQSeries and Microsoft Message Queue,Point-Point vs. Publish/Subscribe metaphors,Enterprise. Application Integration, Workflow Management, Introduction to Web Services using Java SOAP. Introduction to Microsoft .NET Architecture with C++.
PRE-REQUISITES: ICS 2108 Programming Methodology REFERENCES: 1. Robert J. Schalkoff. ProgrProgramming Languages And Methodologies. Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2006.

2. Simon Bennett, Steve McRobb , Ray Farmer. Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using
UML (Paperback) Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using UML. 3rd Edition. McGrawHill. 2006

3. Itzik Ben-Gan. Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Programming. Microsoft Press,U.S.; 2005 4. K. N. King, and K.N. King. C Programming: A Modern Approach. W. W. Norton & Company, 1996 SMA 2231 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AIM: At the end of the course, the student should be able to produce analytical solutions to standard first and second order linear and non-linear differential equations including power series solutions, and to handle analytical solutions of some elementary partial differential equations. SYLLABUS: Partial differentiation including first and second partial derivatives, total derivative, and change of variable for two independent variables. First order equations: their origin, solutions and applications. Second order linear equations: homogeneous with constant and variable coefficients and their applications. Systems of linear differential equations and their applications. Non-linear differential equations. Power series solution of first and second order differential equations. Linear equations of nth order. Introduction to Partial Differential Equations and their applications.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I, STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II and STA 2204 Calculus for Statistics III REFERENCES: 1. R Bronson Theory and Problems of Differential Equations. 2nd ed. Schaum Outline Series. McGraw Hill, 1994. 2. RK Nagle & EB Saff Fundamentals of Differential Equations. 4th ed. Addison-Wesley. 1996. 3. SJ Salas and E Hille Calculus: One and Several Variables, 7th ed. Wiley.1995.

STA 2201 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS III AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to handle problems involving probability distributions of two discrete or continuous random variables.

SYLLABUS: Bivariate probability mass, density and distribution functions: discrete and continuous, joint, marginal and conditional. Bivariate moment generating function. Moment generating function and change of variable techniques for bivariate distribution. Stochastic independence. Regression and correlation. Bivariate normal distribution. Independence of sample mean and variance for normal distribution. The t, chi-square and F distributions. Two sample normal and t tests. Distribution of order statistics.
PRE-REQUISITES:STA 2200 Probability and Statistics II, STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I, STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II and STA 2204 Calculus for Statistics III REFERENCES:

1. Dennis Wackerly, William Mendenhall, and Richard L. Scheaffer. Mathematical

Statistics with Applications. P W S Publishers 2007.

2. Matthew J., Hassett and Donald Stewart. Probability for Risk Management. ACTEX
Publications 2006

3. RV Hogg, JW McKean & AT Craig Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 6th ed.,

Prentice Hall, 2003 4. Robert V Hogg and Elliot A. Tanis. Probability and Statistical Inference, 7th ed. Prentice Hall College Div 2005.

STA 2290 FINANCIAL MATHEMATICS II AIM: This course applies concepts that deal with accumulation of past payments and the discounting of future payments at fixed and varying rates of interest; it is fundamental to the financial aspects of Actuarial Science. SYLLABUS: Investments and their risk characteristics. Elementary Compound Interest Problems- Fixed Interest Securities e.g. bonds. Capital gains Tax. Arbitrage. Forward Contracts. Running yield, Redemption Yield. Growth of money in the presence of inflation. Term Structure of Interest Rates. Duration and Immunization. Stochastic Interest Rate Models.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2191 Financial Mathematics I, STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I, STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II and STA 2204 Calculus for Statistics III CO-REQUISITE: SMA 2321 Numerical Analysis. REFERENCES: 1. The study notes published by the Actuarial Education Company for Core Technical 1. 2. Bowers, L Newton et al Actuarial Mathematics. Society of Actuaries 1997. 3. MV Butcher, Nesbitt, J Cecil Mathematics of Compound Interest Ulrichs Books 1971 4. Ingersoll, E Jonathan Theory of financial decision making. Rowman & Littlefield 1987 5. Kellinson, G Stephen The theory of interest. Irwin 1991. 6. JJ McCutcheon & WF Scott An introduction to the Mathematics of Finance. Heinemann. 1986

STA 2305 STATISTICAL PROGRAMMING 1 AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to use statistical programming software with its inbuilt macros/functions including performing simulations. SYLLABUS: Basic knowledge of high level programming languages such as C++, S-plus and R. Computer arithmetic. Algorithm for mean and standard deviation. Error analysis. Pseudo random number generators. Generation of random variates: Discrete and continuous distributions. Monte Carlo simulation. Power of test, confidence interval.

PRE-REQUISITES: ICS 2108 Programming Methodology, STA 2202 Introduction to computer interactive Statistics. CO-REQUISITE: STA 2201 Probability and Statistics III. REFERENCES: 1. Robert J. Schalkoff. ProgrProgramming Languages And Methodologies. Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2006.

2. Simon Bennett, Steve McRobb , Ray Farmer. Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design
Using UML (Paperback) Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using UML. 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill. 2006 3. Crawley. Statistics: An Introduction Using R. John Wiley & Sons, 2005

9.3 9.3.1

Third Year Semester 1

Core Units STA 2306 REAL ANALYSIS FOR STATISTICS AIM At the end of the course the students will be able to handle mathematics related to countable and uncountable sets, subspaces and metric spaces, sequences and series, absolute convergence. SYLABUS: Fourier series: convergence theorems, and applications of Fourier series to sum of infinite series. Calculus of several variables: continuity and differentiability, and first, higher and mixed order partial derivatives. Application to equation of tangent plane and unconstrained and constrained optimization. Infinite series: the comparison, ratio and integral tests of convergence. Power series: radius of convergence and absolute convergence. The Cauchy principle of convergence. Stochastic and asymptotic convergence of probability distributions. Uniform convergence: sequences of functions and series, the Wierstrass M-test, and the Cauchy principle of uniform convergence.
PRE-REQUISITES: SMA 2100 Discrete Mathematics, STA 2104 Calculus for Statistics I, STA 2105 Calculus for Statistics II REFERENCES:

1. 2.

FM Hart Guide to Analysis. Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. PE Kopp Analysis, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996.

STA 2300 THEORY OF ESTIMATION AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to describe the main methods of estimation and the main properties of estimators, and apply them. SYLLABUS: Point estimation: method of moments, maximum likelihood and least squares methods. Unbiassed estimators. Sufficiency: joint, minimal, and complete statistics. Minimum variance unbiassed estimators. Consistent and efficient estimators. Cramer-Rao inequality for a single parameter. Interval estimation. Mean squared error. Loss and risk functions. Bayes' estimation. Minimax estimation.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2201 Probability and Statistics III

REFERENCES: 1. RV Hogg, JW McKean & AT Craig Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 6th ed., Prentice Hall, 2003 2. HJ Larson Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistical Inference. 3rd ed., Wiley, 1982

STA 2302 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS IV AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to handle problems involving probability distributions of more than two discrete or continuous random variables, probability generating and characteristic functions and some important theoretical results. SYLLABUS: Random and mean vectors. Covariance matrix and its properties. Linear combination of random variables. Multivariate normal distribution: definition of non-singular multivariate normal probability density function. Moment generating and characteristic functions of multivariate normal variables. Marginal and conditional distributions of subsets. Multinomial distribution. Probability generating functions of common distributions. Uniqueness theorem of characteristic function. The weak law of large numbers. Central limit theorem. Chebychev's inequality.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2100 Probability and Statistics I, STA 2200 Probability and Statistics II and STA 2201 Probability and Statistics III, SMA 2201Linear Algebra I and SMA 2306 Linear Algebra II REFERENCES: 1. Anderson, T. AN Introduction to Multivariate Statistical Analysis. Wiley,. 1958. 2. I Miller & M Miller John E Freunds Mathematical Statistics with Applications, 7th ed., Pearsons Education, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2003 3. RV Hogg, JW McKean & AT Craig Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 6th ed., Prentice Hall, 2003 4. HJ Larson Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistical Inference. 3rd ed., Wiley, 1982. 5. Mendenhall. Mathematical Statistics with Applications. P W S Publishers; 5th edition, 1995. 6. Hassett, M and Stewart, D. Probability for Risk Management. Winsted, Actex. 1999

STA 2311 STATISTICAL PROGRAMMING II AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to use statistical programming software to handle data in matrix/vectors including estimations and define new functions. SYLLABUS: Reading real data in R. Arithmetic operators, logical expressions, generating sequences of numbers, complex arithmetic and elementary functions. Vector and matrix computation: identity, determinant and inverse of a matrix, Kronecker products, solution of systems of linear equations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Estimators such as mean vector and variance covariance matrix. Numerical estimates of integrals, differences and derivatives. Optimisation: determining roots of equations, and local maxima and minima of univariate and multivariate functions, solution of non negative linear and non linear least squares problems.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2305 Statistical Programming I REFERENCES: 1. Robert J. Schalkoff. ProgrProgramming Languages And Methodologies. Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 2006.

2. Simon Bennett, Steve McRobb , Ray Farmer. Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design
Using UML (Paperback) Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design Using UML. 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill. 2006

3.

Crawley. Statistics: An Introduction Using R. John Wiley & Sons, 2005

STA 2390 ACTUARIAL MATHEMATICS II AIM: This course introduces the life table, the oldest actuarial model for contingencies (e.g. survival, death, sickness) relating to human life and combines this with financial mathematics in order to calculate values for annuities and life assurance policies for more than one life. SYLLABUS: Simple annuities and assurances involving one and more lives, determination of policy, surrender, and paid-up values. Special annuities: cash re-funds and retirement income annuities, their values and premiums. Life and continuous annuities, and periodic premiums. Reversionary annuities and compound status functions: values and premiums. Reserves for life assurance and annuities. Valuation of liabilities under life policies. Nonforfeiture and dividends. Use of computer packages.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2291 Actuarial Mathematics I REFERENCES: 1. NL Bowers, HU Gerber, JC Hickman et al. Actuarial mathematics. 2nd ed. Society of Actuaries, 1997. 2. WF Scott Life Assurance Mathematics, Heriot-Watt University, 1999. 3. Neill, A. Life contingencies, Heinemann 1977. 4. HU Gerber Life insurance mathematics. 3rd ed. Springer; Swiss Association of Actuaries, 1997.

STA 2413 REGRESSION MODELLING AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to investigate linear relationships between variables using correlation analysis and regression analysis. SYLLABUS: Simple linear regression: least squares formulation and maximum likelihood estimation, tests of hypotheses on slope and intercept. Multiple linear regressions: model description and assumptions, general linear model, least squares estimators and their properties, and hypothesis testing in multiple linear regressions. Non-linear regression: nonlinear least squares, their estimators and asymptotic properties. Simple non-parametric regression: models, estimators and asymptotic properties. Simple neural network regression: models, least square estimators and asymptotic properties. Models for multidimensional tables.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2201 Probability and Statistics III REFERENCES: 1. N R Draper, H Smith Applied Regression Analysis. New York: Wiley. 1998. 2. S Chatterjee, B Price Regression analysis by Example. New York: Wiley, 1991. 3. DA Freedman Statistical Models: Theory and Practice. Cambridge, University Press, 2005. 4. Cameron, A & Trivedi, P. Regression Analysis of Count Data. Cambridge University Press. 1998.

Elective Unit STA 2470 OPERATIONS RESEARCH AIM: At the end this course the student should be able to handle problems in linear programming, network analysis, dynamic programming, stock control and simulation of queues.

SYLLABUS: Operations research: its definitions, uses and objectives. Linear programming: model formulation, graphical, simplex and dual methods, and transportation problems. Integer and goal programming. Network analysis: CPM (critical path method) and PERT (project evaluation and review technique). Dynamic programming: deterministic models. Stock control: square root formula for economic order quantity and its application to discount models. Simulation models such as queues. Use of computer packages.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. WL Winston Operations Research: Applications and Algorithms (3rd edn.), ITP-Duxbury Belmont, 1994

9.3.2

Semester 2

Core Units HRD 2114 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to apply the conventional research methods. SYLLABUS: Research: definitions, types and basic concepts; tools of research and sources of information; Literature review and identification of gaps in knowledge; Empirical research planning: objectives and justification. Problem identification; Proposal preparation, Identification of appropriate methodology; Logic of scientific inquiry: Testing hypotheses. Ethical issues. Research presentation: Title and authors, abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusions and references.
PRE-REQUISITES: HRD 2101 Communication Skills CO-REQUISITE: STA 2301 Test of Hypotheses REFERENCES: 1. Ranjit Kumar. Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. Sage Publications Ltd; Second Edition, 2005.

2. Ellen R. Girden. Evaluating Research Articles from Start to Finish. Sage Publications, Inc;
Second Edition, 2001

3. Arlene Fink. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. Sage
Publications, Inc; Second Edition, 2004

4. Fred Pyrczak, and Randall R. Bruce. Writing Empirical Research Reports. Pyrczak Pub; 3RD
edition, 1998.

STA 2301 TESTS OF HYPOTHESES AIM: at the end of the course the student should be able to handle simple and composite hypotheses, concepts of statistical tests and resulting errors, and some non-parametric tests. SYLLABUS: Simple and composite hypotheses. Concepts of a statistical test. Two types of error. Power of a test. Neyman-Pearson criterion for testing simple hypotheses: most

powerful and uniformly most powerful tests. Sequential test procedure. Likelihood ratio test. Two-sample and paired sample tests. Small and large sample tests. Tests for correlation and regression. Non-parametric Tests: Sign Test, Wilcoxon Test. Kruskal-Wallis Test.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2300 Theory of Estimation. REFERENCES: 1. RV Hogg, JW McKean & AT Craig Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, 6th ed., Prentice Hall, 2003 2. HJ Larson Introduction to Probability Theory and Statistical Inference. 3rd ed., Wiley, 1982 3. Dennis Wackerly, William Mendenhall, and Richard L. Scheaffer. Mathematical Statistics with Applications. P W S Publishers 2007.

4. Matthew J., Hassett and Donald Stewart. Probability for Risk Management. ACTEX Publications
2006

5. Robert V Hogg and Elliot A. Tanis. Probability and Statistical Inference, 7th ed. Prentice Hall
College Div 2005.

STA 2309 RISK THEORY FOR ACTUARIAL SCIENCES AIM: This course provides the aspects of statistics relevant to risk measurement in Actuarial work. SYLLABUS: Economics of insurance, individual risk models for a short term, collective risk models for single and extended periods. Ruin theory and applications. Analysis of risk/uncertainty: risk/ uncertainty concepts, situations measurement of risk in precise terms, incorporating risk in investment decisions, RAD (risk - adjusted discount rate), certainty equivalent (Hillier models), probability distribution, decision trees, and simulation (Hertz's model) approaches. Statistical inference for loss distributions: point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, simulation, model building and testing. Sensitivity analysis of loss distributions: binomial, Poisson, normal, gamma, log-normal, log-gamma, Pareto, generalized Pareto, negative binomial, beta, and compound Poisson.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2300 Theory of Estimation CO-REQUISITE: STA 2395 Decision Theory and Bayesian Inference I; STA 2301 Tests of Hypotheses REFERENCES: 1. N Bowers et al. Actuarial Mathematics. Society of Actuaries, 1986. 2. IB Hossack, JH Pollard, & B Zehnwirth Introductory Statistics with Applications in General Insurance. Cambridge University Press 1983. 3. Daykin, C & Pentikainen, Practical Risk Theory for Actuaries. Chapman and Hall, 1994. 4. Kluggman S A, and Panjer, H H, et al. Loss Models: From Data to Decisions.John-Wiley and Sons, 1998

STA 2391 STOCHASTIC PROCESSES FOR ACTUARIAL AND FINANCE AIM: To provide grounding in stochastic processes and their application to the models used for actuarial work. SYLLABUS: Random phenomena in time and space. Bernoulli, Poisson and stochastic processes in discrete and continuous time. Markov chains: property and discrete time. Sojourn times and stationary distributions. Classification of states. Absorption probabilities. Expected times of transitions. Applications in relevant sectors. Random walk, and generating functions. Recurrent events. Pure birth processes, birth and death processes. Branching

processes. Queuing models: Poisson input, negative exponential and service stability. Weiner Process. Brownian motion process with drift, geometric Brownian motion process.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2201 Probability and Statistics III, STA 2300 Theory of Estimation REFERENCES: 1. S M Ross Stochastic Processes, Wiley, 1996. 2. L Breiman Probability, Philadelphia, PA: SIAM, 1992. 3. L Breuer & D Baum An introduction to queuing theory and matrix-analytic methods, Springer, Heidelberg etc., 2005. 4. E inlar Introduction to stochastic processes, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; Prentice-Hall, 1975. 5. S Karlin & HM Taylor A first course in stochastic processes, 2nd ed., New York: Academic Press, 1975. 6. T Rolski, H Schmidli, V Schmidt & J Teugels Stochastic Processes for Insurance and Finance, Wiley, Chichester etc., 1999. 7. S Ross Applied Probability Models with Optimization Applications, Dover, New York, 1970. 8. Ikeda, N. and Watanabe, S., Stochastic Differential Equations and Diffusion Processes. North-Holland Publishing Company, 1981.

STA 2395 DECISION THEORY AND BAYESIAN INFERENCE I AIM: The student should be able to build statistical models for non-trivial problems when data is sparse and expert opinion need to be incorporated and under the key features of a Bayesian problem and algorithms for Bayesian Analysis. SYLLABUS: Bayes rule, Loss and risk functions, and minimax rules. Likelihood principle, prior and posterior distribution. Classification and hypothesis testing. Estimation in decision framework. Subjectivism point of view. Bayesian inference for normal distribution. Bayesian analysis for binomial data. Basic concepts in decision analysis including influence diagrams, decision trees, and utility theory.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2300 Theory of Estimation REFERENCES: 1. Rice, J. A. Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis (2nd edition), International Thomson Publishing, 1999. 2. Gelman, A., Carlin, J., Stern, H. and Rubin, D., Bayesian Data Analysis, 2nd edition, Chapman & Hall, 2004. 3. Lee, Peter, Bayesian Statistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, Arnold, 1997. 4. Mike West & Jeff Harrison, Bayesian Forecasting and Dynamic Models, 2nd edn. Springer Verlag, 1997. 5. Andy Pole, Mike West & Jeff Harrison, Applied Bayesian Forecasting and Time Series Analysis, Chapman and Hall, 1994.

STA 2401 TIME SERIES ANALYSIS AIM: At the end of the course the student should be proficient in handling problems in Economic time series, including modelling time series. SYLLABUS: Economic time series: the four components, methods of fitting trend, stationary time series, use of filters in time series analysis, methods of moving averages and variate differences. Autoregressive processes. Correlogram, periodogram and spectogram analysis. Prediction theory. Box-Jenkins approach to modelling time series. Use of computer packages.

CO-REQUISITES: STA 2391 Stochastic Processes for Actuarial and finance. REFERENCES: 1. PJ Brockwell & RA Davis Introduction to Time Series and Forecasting. Springer. 2nd.ed., 2002. 2. W Enders Applied Econometric Time Series Wiley. 2nd Ed., 2004. 3. Pindyck, Robert S & Rubinfield, D. L. Econometric Models and Econometric Forecasts.. McGrawHill/Irwin, 1997.

Elective Unit STA 2422 GAME THEORY AIM: This course provides the aspects of statistics relevant to risk measurement and decision making in Actuarial work when working under uncertainty given that the states of nature may be hostile. SYLLABUS: Introduction to strategic form games. Dominance solvability: Bertrand duopoly. Nash equilibrium. Multiple equilibria: Min-max, Felix and Oscar - an example of a player's best response, and the Cola Wars - ann example of a coordination problem. Tragedy of the Commons. Mixed strategies: reason 1, reason 2, reason 3, and solving mixed strategy games. Mixed strategy applications: monopoly and bankruptcy. Market niches. Classic strategic form games, extensive form games, and information and extensive form games. Backward Induction. Commitment: the proposal, kidnapped, Netsoft versus Macroscape, and Kuhn's theorem on solvability. Iterative elimination and backward induction. Credibility and subgames. Sub-game perfect equilibrium. Treasury bill auctions: a dynamic game with imperfect information. Subgame perfect equilibrium: market entry. Bilateral trade: a static game in strategic form with complete information. Involuntary unemployment: a dynamic game with uncertainty. Time consistent monetary policy: making credible commitments. Static games with incomplete information. Auctions: glossary, first, second, and all pay, and selling state liquor stores. Equivalence of auctions: all-pay auction. Dynamic games with incomplete information: good and bad cars, and the market for lemons.
CO-REQUISITES: STA 2309 Risk Theory for Actuarial Sciences, STA 2395 Decision Theory and Bayesian Inference I REFERENCES: 1. Dobson, A J. AN Introduction to Statistical Modelling, Chapman & Hall, 1983.

9.4 9.4.1

Fourth Year Semester 1

University Unit HRD 2401 ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS AIM: At the end of this course the students should gain entrepreneurial skills to facilitate them to venture into the business world.

SYLLABUS: Definitions of entrepreneurship and entrepreneur, the entrepreneur and society, entrepreneurship and self-employment, the government and entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial behaviour; sources for business ideas, resources of appropriate technology, evaluating the businessman's resources; legal aspects of business, business -business formation, trading licenses; sources of finance for small entrepreneurs; decision making; risk taking; leadership; marketing strategies; hiring, motivating and firing of staff; financial management; time management; business planning
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES:

1. Edward Lumsdaine, and Martin Binks. Entrepreneurship from Creativity to Innovation: Effective
Thinking Skills for a Changing World. Trafford Publishing, 2006.

2. N. Gregory Mankiw, Mark P. Taylor. Economics. Thomson Learning, 2006. Core Units HRD 2402 FINANCIAL REPORTING AND INTERPRETATION OF ACCOUNTS AIM: This module provides an introduction to the principles of corporate finance and financial reporting. It is intended for students of Actuarial Science and is available to students in other programmes where a basic knowledge of financial markets, financial accounting and reporting is needed. SYLLABUS: Construction of accounts of different types: simple balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements; the role and principal features of the accounts of a company. Importance of annual reports and accounts. Fundamental accounting concepts for drawing up of company accounts. The structure and content of insurance company accounts. Subsidiary company and associated company. Consolidated accounts. Interpretation of the accounts of a company or a group of companies and the limitations of such interpretation.: priority percentages and gearing, income cover and asset cover for loan capital, effects of interest rate movements on a highly geared company, price earnings ratio, dividend yield, dividend cover and EBITDA, shortcomings of historical cost accounting, ways used in manipulation of reported figures to create a false impression of a company's financial position. Use of spreadsheets.
PRE-REQUISITE: HRD 2201 Accounts and Finance for Actuarial Science REFERENCES: 1. Brealey, R & Myers S.C. Principles of Corporate Finance. McGraw Hill, 2005. 2. Geoffrey Holmes, Alan Sugden Interpreting Company Reports and Accounts, 8th ed. Pearson Education, 2002 3. Arthur J. Keown. Foundations of Finance : The Logic and Practice of Financial Management . Prentice Hall Finance Ser.), 2000 4. Frederic S. Mishkin and Stanley G. Eakins Financial Markets and Institutions 5th ed, AddisonWesley finance Series 2005 5. David S. Kidwell, David W. Blackwell, David A. Whidbee, and Richard L. Peterson Financial Institutions, Markets and Money, 9th ed. Wiley Finance Series 2005 6. The study notes from the Institute of Actuaries for Core Technical 2.

HRD 2403 PENSIONS AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS

AIM: At the end of the course the student appreciate the theory behind the operation of a pensions and retirement benefits office. SYLLABUS: General commercial and economic environment: principal terms, parts played by the state, employers and individuals, forms and levels of benefits, financing needs of sponsors, regulation of non-state provision, implications of different presentation and reporting of benefits and contributions and of professional guidance, ways of financing benefits through timing of contributions and forms of investment. Problems: determination of a suitable design for level and form of benefits, method of financing and choice of funding assets, risks affecting level and incidence of benefits, contributions and return on capital, and overall security of benefits. Solutions: actuarial models, determination of assumptions for valuing future benefits and contributions, determination of discontinuance terms, determination of values for assets and future benefits and contributions, trade-off between risk and reward, and re-insurance.
PRE-REQUISITES: HRD 2200 General Insurance: Theory, STA 2309 Risk Theory for Actuarial Science REFERENCES: 1. Aitken, W.H. A Problem Solving Approach to Pension Funding and Valuation, (Second Edition), 1996. 2. Dobson, A J. AN Introduction to Statistical Modelling, Chapman & Hall, 1983. ISBN 0 412 24860 3 3. Ingersoll, E Jonathan Theory of financial decision making. Rowman & Littlefield 1987

STA 2442 FINANCIAL ECONOMICS FOR ACTUARIAL SCIENCE AIM: The aim of the Financial Economics course is to develop the necessary skills to construct asset liability models and to value financial derivatives. These skills are also required to communicate with other financial professionals and to critically evaluate modern financial theories. SYLLABUS: Modern financial theories: utility theory, stochastic dominance. Portfolio Theory: Risk and rates of return, risk assessment and expected returns. Measures of investment risk: mean, standard deviation, quantiles, mean variance portfolio theory, multifactor models. Stochastic asset models. Efficient market hypothesis. Pricing models: characteristic line of best fit and CAPM (capital asset pricing model) and other asset pricing models. Introduction to stochastic calculus and It processes. Stochastic models of security prices. Brownian motion and martingales. Introduction to derivatives: valuation of futures and options. The binomial model. Interest rate models. Arbitrage-free pricing. Black-Scholes option pricing (formula, assumptions and interpretation). The Greeks.
PRE-REQUISITES: SMA 2231 Differential Equations REFERENCES: 1. Hull, JC. Options, Futures and other Derivatives. Prentice Hall, 2002 2. Panjer, HH. Financial Economics with Applications to Investments Insurance and Premiums. Actuarial Foundation, 1998.

3. 4. 5.

Elton EJ, et al. Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis. John Wiley, 2003 Babbel, D. and Merrill, C. Valuation of Interest Sensitive Financial Instruments, 1996. Fabozzi, FJ . Handbook of Fixed Income Derivatives, 5th ed. Irwin, Chicago, 1997.

STA 2490 DEMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to handle problems in demographic data, statistical properties of life table estimators, proportional hazard models, multi-state life tables and population growth. SYLLABUS: Demographic data: collection, sources of errors and their corrections, and measures of mortality and fertility. Mortality: analysis, life tables and their construction from census data, model life tables, continuous and multiple decrement formulations, statistical properties of life table estimators, and proportional hazard models and multi-state life tables. Population growth: simple models, stable and stationary populations and their use for estimation of demographic parameters, and population projections and use of census data. Use of computer packages.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2100 Probability and Statistics I, STA 2291 Actuarial Mathematics I REFERENCES: 1. Brown R. L. Introduction to the Mathematics of Demography 3rd ed. ACTEX, 1997. 2. Kpedekpo, G. M. K. Essentials of Demographic Analysis for Africa. Heinemann. ISBN 0 435 97390 8, 1982.

STA 2491 ACTUARIAL MATHEMATICS III AIM: This course uses the life table functions to calculate values for special annuities and reserving. SYLLABUS: Variable benefits & with profit policies. Gross premiums & provisions for fixed & variable benefit contracts. Contingent and reversionary benefits. Profit testing. Determining provisions using profit testing. Competing risks, Multiple decrement tables. Valuation Theory for Pension funds and plans. Analysis and distribution of surplus. Mortality, selection & standardisation.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2390 Actuarial Mathematics II REFERENCES: 1. NL Bowers, HU Gerber, JC Hickman et al. Actuarial mathematics. 2nd ed. Society of Actuaries, 1997. 2. WF Scott Life Assurance Mathematics, Heriot-Watt University, 1999. 3. Neill, A. Life contingencies. Heinemann, 1977. 4. HU Gerber Life insurance mathematics. 3rd ed. Springer; Swiss Association of Actuaries, 1997.

STA 2498 DECISION THEORY AND BAYESIAN INFERENCE II AIM: This course provides the aspects of statistics and the theory of Bayesian inference relevant to risk measurement and decision making in Actuarial work when working under uncertainty. SYLLABUS: Conjugate and Non-conjugate, Informative and non-informative, and Jeffreys prior distributions. Proper and improper posterior distribution. Conjugate families, asymptotic approximations for posterior distributions, sequential experiments. Credible Interval and Highest Posterior Density. Introduction to Markov chain. Markov chain Monte Carlo

(MCMC) Methods. Statistical modelling via exchangeability and the de Finetti theorem. Bayesian analysis in one-layer problems and the Stein effect.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2300 Theory of Estimation; STA 2395 Decision Theory & Bayesian Inference I REFERENCES: 1. Rice, J. A. Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis, 2nd edition, International Thomson Publishing, 1999. 2. Gelman, A., Carlin, J., Stern, H. and Rubin, D., Bayesian Data Analysis, 2nd edition. Chapman & Hall, 2004. 3. Lee, Peter, Bayesian Statistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition. Arnold, 1997. 4. Mike West & Jeff Harrison, Bayesian Forecasting and Dynamic Models, 2nd edn. Springer Verlag, 1997. 5. Andy Pole, Mike West & Jeff Harrison, Applied Bayesian Forecasting and Time Series Analysis. Chapman and Hall, 1994.

Elective Unit STA 2402 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE SURVEYS AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to handle the problems of conducting a sample survey, use of different sampling designs and ratio and regression estimators. SYLLABUS: Sample survey: definition, advantages and principal steps in organizing a survey. Types of samples: probability and purposive. Simple random sampling: sampling proportions and percentages; estimating sample size; stratified random, systematic, cluster and multistage samples; selections with p.p.s (probability proportional to size). Ratio and regression estimators, sampling and non-sampling errors, organisation of national surveys, and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Use of computer packages.
PRE-REQUISITES: NONE REFERENCES: 1. Cochran, W.G. Sampling Techniques. John-Wiley. 1977

9.4.2

Semester 2

Core Units HRD 2301 LIFE ASSURANCE: THEORY AIM: At the end of the course the student appreciate the theory behind the operation of a life assurance office. SYLLABUS: Principal terms. Types of insurance in terms of consumers needs, financial and other risks. Distribution of profits to policy holders: bonuses, revalorisation, and contribution method dividends. Effect of business environment through distribution channels, regulatory and fiscal regimes, and professional guidance. Sources of risk and problems: policy, mortality, critical illness and sickness rates, investment performance, expenses, inflation, withdrawals, new business, guarantees, options, competition, company management, and counterparties under reinsurance arrangements. Factors used in design of a

life insurance product, principles of setting assumptions for pricing and valuing, principles behind determination of discontinuance terms, determination of supervisory reserves, principles of investment and asset-liability matching, assessment of on-going solvency, reinsurance and underwriting, and distribution of profit.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2291 Actuarial Mathematics I, STA 2390 Actuarial Mathematics II and STA 2491 Actuarial Mathematics III REFERENCES: 1. The study notes from the Institute of Actuaries for the Specialist Application 2.

STA 2420 FINANCIAL TIME SERIES AIM: At the end of the course the student should be proficient in handling problems in Economic time series, including modelling time series incorporating the aspect of financial risk. SYLLABUS: Features of financial time series: Price process. Interest rate process, their properties and computer aided simulation of these processes. Volatility: ARCH (Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic) process, its properties and simulation. GARCH (Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic), properties and simulation. Fitting of AR, ARCH and GARCH processes, application of these to estimate volatilities of financial returns. Introduction to measures of financial risk based on IID (independent and identically distributed) assumption.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2401 Time Series Analysis REFERENCES: 1. PJ Brockwell & RA Davis. Introduction to Time Series and Forecasting. Springer. 2nd.ed., 2002. 2. W Enders. Applied Econometric Time Series. Wiley. 2nd Ed., 2004. 3. Pindyck, Robert S & Rubinfield, D. L. Econometric Models and Econometric Forecasts. McGrawHill/Irwin. 1997.

STA 2423 FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT AIM: At the end of this course the student should be able to manage market and operational risk. SYLLABUS: The Basel II accord on requirements for financial risks. Market risk: the VaR and extensions of the VaR approach; incremental VaR, DeltaVaR and most significant risks. Stress testing and scenario analysis. Credit risk: credit rating systems, internal risk rating, debt rating and migration. Credit VaR and calculation of capital charge. Contingent claim approach to measuring credit risk. Hedging credit risk. Operational risk, capital allocation and performance measurement; RAROC model, calculating exposures, expected default and expected losses.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2309 Risk Theory for Actuarial science REFERENCES:

1. Lam, J. Enterprise Risk Management from Incentives to Controls. Wiley Finance, 2003 2. Bessis, J. Risk Management in Banking. John-Wiley. 2002. 3. Stulz, R. Derivatives, Risk Management and Financial Engineering. Southwestern Publishing.
1998.

STA 2492 CREDIBILITY THEORY AND LOSS MODELS AIM: This course covers aspects of Statistics which are particularly relevant to insurance. SYLLABUS: Compound distributions, policy modifications; deductibles, policy limits and coinsurance, limited fluctuation (classical) credibility, full and partial credibility. Run-off triangle, Chain-ladder Method. Bon Heuter Fergerson (BF) Method. Bayesian analysis and Buhlmann-Straub credibility, empirical Bayesian methods: nonparametric, semi - parametric cases. Ruin Theory: discrete-time surplus process, continuous-time Poisson surplus process, distribution of a hitting.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2309 Risk Theory for Actuarial Science REFERENCES: 1. N Bowers et al. Actuarial Mathematics. Society of Actuaries, 1986. 2. IB Hossack, JH Pollard, & B Zehnwirth Introductory Statistics with Applications in General Insurance. Cambridge University Press 1983. 3. Daykin, C & Pentikainen, Practical Risk Theory for Actuaries. Chapman and Hall, 1994. 4. Kluggman S A, and Panjer, H H, et al. Loss Models: From Data to Decisions.John-Wiley and Sons, 1998. 5. Ross. Introduction to Probability Models. John Wiley, New York, 2006

STA 2493 SURVIVAL ANALYSIS AIM: On completion of the course the student should be able to estimate transition intensities/survival rates that will enable performance of calculations in life assurance, pensions and health insurance. SYLLABUS: Principles of actuarial modelling. Distribution and density functions of the random future lifetime, the survival function and the force of hazard. Estimation procedures for lifetime distributions including censoring, Kaplan-Meier estimate, Nelson estimate and Cox model. Statistical models of transfers between states. Maximum likelihood estimators for the transition intensities. Binomial and Poisson models of mortality. Estimation of agedependent transition intensities. The graduation process. Testing of graduations. Measuring the exposed-to-risk. Use of computer packages.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2291 Actuarial Mathematics 1; STA 2490 Demographic Techniques REFERENCES: 1. Elandt-Johnson & Johnson, Survival Models and Data Analysis, John-Wiley and Sons,1999. 2. Elandt-Johnson, R C; Johnson, Norman L. Survival Models and data analysis. John Wiley. 1997 3. Marubini, E & Valsecchi, M. Analysing Data from clinical trials and Observational studies. John Wiley. 1995. 4. Marubini, E; Valsecchi, M G. Analysing survival data from clinical trials and observational studies. John Wiley, 1995.

STA 2495 NON-LIFE INSURANCE MATHEMATICS

AIM: This course provides grounding in the mathematical techniques which are of particular relevance to Actuarial work in non-life insurance. SYLLABUS: Non-life actuarial problems in practice. Mathematical tools: models, distributions, moments, total claim cost, Cramers inequality, and use of dependent variables. Premium calculation: pragmatic, theoretical and experience principles. Reinsurance, retention and reserves calculation, and the relevant statistics.
PRE-REQUISITES: HRD 2200 General Insurance: Theory. REFERENCES: 1. IB Hossack, JH Pollard, & B Zehnwirth Introductory Statistics with Applications in General Insurance. Cambridge University Press, 1983. 2. NL Bowers, HU Gerber, JC Hickman et al. Actuarial mathematics. 2nd ed. Society of Actuaries, 1997. 3. Brown, R. L. and Gottlieb, L. R. Introduction to Ratemaking and Loss Reserving for Property & Casualty Insurance. 2001.

Elective units HRD 2404 INVESTMENT AND ASSET MANAGEMENT AIM: At the end of this course the student should have a wider understanding of management of investment portfolios that consist of different types of assets. SYLLABUS: Principles underlying legislation, regulation and taxation; valuation of assets and portfolios; capital projects; risk control techniques and performance monitoring. Application to the appraisal of investments, selection and management of assets appropriate to the needs of investors (betas, utility functions, Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV)).
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2191 Financial Mathematics I REFERENCES: 1. Maginn, J.L., and Tuttle, D.L. Managing Investment Portfolios, Second Edition, 1990. 2. Cochrane, John H. Asset Pricing. Princeton University Press, 2001.

STA 2416 COMPUTER INTENSIVE STATISTICS AIM: This course is intended to provide a thorough background of computational methods for the solution of linear and nonlinear optimization problems in statistical and actuarial practice. SYLLABUS: Computer arithmetic; random variate generation; numerical differentiation and integration; general-purpose numerical optimization based on Nelder-Mead, quasi-Newton (BFG S Broyden, Fletcher, Goldfarb and Shanno) and conjugate-gradient algorithms; introduction to bootstrap methods; MCMC, EM and related algorithms; Practical examples in R/Splus/C++.
PRE-REQUISITES: STA 2202 Introduction to computer interactive Statistics, SMA 23021 Numerical Analysis. REFERENCES: 1. Nocedal, J. and Wright, S. Numerical Optimization, Springer-Verlag: New York, 1999.

2. Bertsimas, Dimitris, and John Tsitsiklis. Introduction to Linear Optimization. Belmont, MA: Athena 3.
Scientific Press, 1997. Crawley. Statistics: An Introduction Using R. John Wiley & Sons, 2005

STA 2494 ACTUARIAL SCIENCE PROJECT AIM: As part of fourth-year programme, each BSc (Actuarial Science) student may opt to select and complete a major project in Actuarial Sciences. Students are required to submit written project proposals to a member of the academic staff in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. The project is to be based on at least one source such as a journal article or textbook, and is to represent some additional reading beyond the assigned reading in the course.